All-Organometallic Analogues of Zeise's Salt for the Three Group 10 Metals

Going for gold - the chemistry of structurally authenticated gold(I)-ethylene complexes

Gold coordination chemistry and catalysis involving unsaturated hydrocarbons such as olefins have experienced a remarkable growth during the last few decades. Despite the importance, isolable and well-characterized molecules with ethylene, the simplest and the most widely produced olefin, on gold are still limited. This review aims to cover features of, and strategies utilized to stabilize, gold-ethylene complexes and their diverse use in chemical transformations and homogeneous catalytic processes. Isolable and well-authenticated gold-ethylene complexes are important not only for structural, spectroscopic, and bonding studies but also as models for likely intermediates in gold mediated reactions of alkenes and gold-alkene species observed in the gas phase. There has also been development on AuI/III catalytic cycles. Nitrogen based ligands have been the most widely utilized ligand supports thus far for the successful stabilization of gold-ethylene adducts. Gold has a bright future in olefin chemistry and with ethylene.

Quantitative Descriptions of Dewar-Chatt-Duncanson Bonding Model: A Case Study of Zeise and Its Family Ions

Historically, Dewar-Chatt-Duncanson (DCD) model is a heuristic device to advance the development of organometallic chemistry and deepen our understanding of the metal-ligand bonding nature. Zeise's ion, the first man-made organometallic compound and a quintessential transition metal-olefin complex, was qualitatively explained using the DCD bonding scheme in 1950s. In this work, we quantified the explicit contributions of the σ donation and π back-donation to the metal-ligand bonding in Zeise and its family ions, [PtX3 L]- (X=F, Cl, Br, I, and At; L=C2 H4 , CO, and N2 ), using state-of-the-art quantum chemical calculations and energy decomposition analysis. The relative importance of the σ donation and π back-donation depends on both X and L, with [PtCl3 (C2 H4 )]- being a critical case in which the σ donation is marginally weaker than the π back-donation. The changes along this series are controlled by the energy levels of the correlated molecular orbitals of PtX3 - and ligand L. This study deepens our understanding of the bonding properties for transition metal complexes beyond the qualitative description of the DCD model.

Copper(I), Silver(I), and Gold(I) Ethylene Complexes of Fluorinated and Boron-Methylated Bis- and Tris(pyridyl)borate Chelators

Bis- and tris-pyridyl borate ligands containing pyridyl donor arms, a methylated boron cap, and a fluorine-lined coordination pocket have been prepared and utilized in coinage metal chemistry. The tris(pyridyl)borate ligand has been synthesized using a convenient boron source, [NBu₄][MeBF₃]. These N-based ligands permitted the isolation of group 11 metal-ethylene complexes [MeB(6-(CF₃)Py)₃]M(C₂H₄) and [Me₂B(6-(CF₃)Py)₂]M(C₂H₄) (M = Cu, Ag, Au). The gold complexes display the largest coordination-induced upfield shifts of the ethylene ¹³C resonance relative to that of the free ethylene in their NMR spectra, while the silver complexes show the smallest shift. Solid-state structures of five of these metal-ethylene complexes as well as the related free ligands were established by X-ray crystallography. Surprisingly, all three [MeB(6-(CF₃)Py)₃]M(C₂H₄) adopt the rare κ² coordination mode rather than the typical κ³ coordination mode of facial capping tridentate ligands. Computational analyses indicate that κ² coordination mode is favored over the κ³-mode in these coinage metal-ethylene complexes and point to the effects CF₃-substituents have on κ²/κ³-energy difference. The M-C and M-N bond distances of [MeB(6-(CF₃)Py)₃]M(C₂H₄) follow the trend expected based on covalent radii of M(I) ions. The calculated ethylene-M interaction energy of κ²-[MeB(6-(CF₃)Py)₃]M(C₂H₄) indicated that the gold(I) forms the strongest interaction with ethylene. A comparison to the related poly(pyrazolyl)borates is also presented.

Deviation from the trans-Effect in Ligand-Exchange Reactions of Zeise's Ions PtCl3(C2H4)- with Heavier Halides (Br-, I-)

Four new Zeise's family ions with mixed-halide ligands, i.e., PtCl_nX_3-n(C₂H₄)^- (X = Br, I; n = 1, 2), were synthesized via ligand-exchange reactions of KX salts with KPtCl₃(C₂H₄) in aqueous solutions, and were detected in vacuum via electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. Their photoelectron spectra reveal a series of well-resolved spectral peaks with their electron binding energies (EBEs) decreasing with increasing halide size, with I having a much stronger effect than Br, i.e., 4.57 (-Cl₃) > 4.56 (-Cl₂Br) > 4.53 (-ClBr₂) > 4.34 (-Cl₂I) > 4.30 eV (-ClI₂). Ab initio electronic structure calculations including spin-orbit coupling (SOC) predict that the cis- and trans-isomers are nearly isoenergetic with the cis-isomer for -Cl₂X and the trans-isomer for -ClX₂ slightly favored, respectively. Excited-state spectra calculated with time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT), and their comparison with the observed ones, suggest that for each species both the cis- and trans-configurations coexist in the experiments and contribute to the observed spectra, a fact that clearly deviates from the prediction of the widely accepted trans-effect, which suggests that only one isomer would have formed.

Probing the surfaces of heterogeneous catalysts by in situ IR spectroscopy

This critical review describes the reactivity of heterogeneous catalysts from the point of view of four simple, but essential for Chemistry, molecules (namely dihydrogen, carbon monoxide, nitrogen monoxide and ethylene) that are considered as probes or as reactants in combination with "in situ" controlled temperature and pressure Infrared spectroscopy. The fundamental properties of H(2), CO, NO and C(2)H(4) are shortly described in order to justify their different behaviour in respect of isolated sites in different environments, extended surfaces, clusters, crystalline or amorphous materials. The description is given by considering some "key studies" and trying to evidence similarities and differences among surfaces and probes (572 references).

Unravelling the Origin of Intermolecular Interactions Using Absolutely Localized Molecular Orbitals

An energy decomposition analysis (EDA) method is proposed to isolate physically relevant components of the total intermolecular interaction energies such as the contribution from interacting frozen monomer densities, the energy lowering due to polarization of the densities, and the further energy lowering due to charge-transfer effects. This method is conceptually similar to existing EDA methods such as Morokuma analysis but includes several important new features. The first is a fully self-consistent treatment of the energy lowering due to polarization, which is evaluated by a self-consistent field calculation in which the molecular orbital coefficients are constrained to be block-diagonal (absolutely localized) in the interacting molecules to prohibit charge transfer. The second new feature is the ability to separate forward and back-donation in the charge-transfer energy term using a perturbative approximation starting from the optimized block-diagonal reference. The newly proposed EDA method is used to understand the fundamental aspects of intermolecular interactions such as the degree of covalency in the hydrogen bonding in water and the contributions of forward and back-donation in synergic bonding in metal complexes. Additionally, it is demonstrated that this method can be used to identify the factors controlling the interaction of the molecular hydrogen with open metal centers in potential hydrogen storage materials and the interaction of methane with rhenium complexes.

Nonchelated Alkene and Alkyne Complexes of d0 Zirconocene Pentafluorophenyl Cations

This paper describes the generation and properties of nonchelated d(0) zirconocene-aryl-alkene and alkyne adducts that are stabilized by the presence of beta-SiMe(3) substituents on the substrates and the weak nucleophilicity of the -C(6)F(5) ligand. The cationic complexes [(C(5)H(4)R)(2)Zr(C(6)F(5))][B(C(6)F(5))(4)] (4a: R = H, 4b: R = Me) were generated by methide abstraction from (C(5)H(4)R)(2)Zr(C(6)F(5))Me by Ph(3)C(+). NMR studies show that 4a,b contain an o-CF...Zr dative interaction and probably coordinate a PhCl molecule in PhCl solution. Addition of allyltrimethylsilane (ATMS) to 4a,b in C(6)D(5)Cl solution at low temperature produces an equilibrium mixture of (C(5)H(4)R)(2)Zr(C(6)F(5))(H(2)C=CHCH(2)SiMe(3))(+) (7a,b), 4a,b, and free ATMS. Similarly, addition of propargyltrimethylsilane (PTMS) to 4a produces an equilibrium mixture of Cp(2)Zr(C(6)F(5))(HCCCH(2)SiMe(3))(+) (8a), 4a, and free PTMS. The NMR data for 7a,b,and 8a are consistent with highly unsymmetrical substrate coordination and substantial polarization of the substrate multiple bond with significant positive charge buildup at C(int) and negative charge buildup at C(term). PTMS binds to 4a more strongly than ATMS does. The ATMS adducts undergo nondissociative alkene face exchange ("alkene flipping"), i.e., exchange of the (C(5)H(4)R)(2)Zr(C(6)F(5))(+) unit between the two alkene enantiofaces without decomplexation of the alkene, on the NMR time scale.